Playing with Ideas

While we still have a few ideas to toss around, the details really are narrowing down.

Wreath to go above the fireplace. We may scatter some dark red berries throughout.

I'll probably put the brown color sheer or curtain on the outside and the cream lace on the inside. It's too windy to mess with it much more today. I like how the lighter organza brown looks, but the darker is heavier in weight so hangs better.

We have quite a few flower garlands for this gazebo, but may need to buy a few more strands.

Now, these are another one of the best deals I've found for the wedding:

Normally priced $10.89 per pot, these orangy-red and yellow, two-colored tulips were three for the price of one, just for this weekend! This is such an excellent deal, as you can see there are @ 15 in each pot.

Enjoying this journey ~


Javamom

Score!

Ky and I completely wore ourselves out the last two days running important errands and shopping for decor and supplies. I scored extremely well just at Target alone while she updated the wedding gift registry. I made a mock arrangement to simulate the various ideas that we can put to use on any of the special tables: guest book, photo, and/or her cake table. We will pull from vintage things we already own, whether they be linens or pottery, grandma's quilt, a few things purchased at JoAnn's, plus add in what we found in the last 36 hours at two different Target stores.

Notice the 100% cotton napkins in coffee and persimmon just to the left below center. These were 1.74 per 4-pack. I still need to hit a couple more stores to snap up enough for the reception. I found three packs of six satin bows each for 97 cents apiece. We can stick those anywhere. I found the texture of a reddish-orange beaded charger that can add another layer to any of the tables under a centerpiece. It is not pictured here, but I got it for $3. The bird cages (2 small and 2 large) were $3 and $5 each. The red cotton quilt under all these items can be used for one of the tables: $7. It is actually a clearance item of 100% cotton and is really wonderful! Top it off with a couple of scattered vintage linens with a touch of persimmon red and the effect will be very nice.

The lace sheer and the brown organza sheer are my favorites. They're for the gazebo. The wreath hook is in brownish copper and I think we purchased four or six of them. One will go over the mantlepiece and the others on the doors, to hold wreaths which are not yet made.

I have 14 cream colored pots for potted wildflowers to line a balcony railing, add one or two to the mantle, or line a walkway toward the gazebo, weather permitting.

More views of the same ~ but I won't reveal more details here today. I want to keep some surprises for the big day :-)

Remember, these neat items will not all be in one place, but applied to tables, mantlepiece, a vintage red bike, and a gazebo, weather permitting!!

Javamom

Thoughts on Bridal and Wedding Planning

I spent most of today on laundry and wedding things. Threw in a batch of gluten-free brownies for good measure and it has been a fairly productive day!

Wedding planning as parents of the bride is much more detailed and involved than it was for us as parents of the groom last summer. And since this is our ONLY daughter, this particular angle will only happen once for us. Suffice it to say that I have enjoyed it immensely :-). This is such a neat (though a little bittersweet) season of life!

I have two formal dresses from which to choose for our daughter's wedding coming up exactly one month from today. It has been a cooler and wetter winter than normal, so I have been looking at various photos and patterns for making a wrap, bolero, or jacket to wear with either dress. Dd and I looked at patterns over a month ago, but didn't buy anything at the time. I spent the last hour or so pouring over dresses at Theknot.com, a fun and THOROUGH wedding planning site. I have narrowed down ideas and am ready to buy a pattern.


If I use my brown dressy dress (below) from our son's wedding last summer, I may add a couple of small details to it as well as a jacket or bolero. The jacket or bolero may be sheer or lace, or I may go with something that has embroidery on it. If I use a taupe formal that I also found last year, I will definitely keep the wrap or jacket more simple and perhaps shorten the dress a bit. I have found (but not yet purchased) shoes that would match either dress, being taupe with brown beading and sequins.

Shoe options! Aren't they pretty? I just love them and I think they are perfect!

We've added another ideal dessert to the dessert menu for the reception:

We pick these blackberries every spring at the park where the wedding is going to be, so we are going to make dessert tarts out of those that we flash froze last summer. Texans tend to call these dewberries, because they are a smaller variety of blackberry, but even texas gardeners, cooks and purists do not all agree. :-)

More updates to follow, as we are off to pick up the kids from the airport. They are returning from securing an apartment and job transfer information in Chicago.

Javamom

Nyhm is mending!

Our sweet, lop-eared bunny has been on "cage rest" for the last three weeks since his surgery.
Our son has been taking very good care of him, from dispensing medicine to tending his wound. Today, Nyhm wanted to love on AJ, so we actually let him out of his cage for about ten minutes. We took advantage of the moment by snapping just a few photos to show you his progress!

He knows his "person" and their bond is evident :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

Javamom

The Wedding Couple

Just posting it here, so anyone wanting to keep up with the wedding story and plans, Ky, Andrew, etc., can read all about it here, at Two Birds of a Feather. Love these kids.

Javamom

Restoring a Bible

I wanted to share photos of another restoration/Bible repair that I worked on this past week.
I was able to fit it in on the days my daughter and almost son-in-law were not visiting to go through more wedding plans and prep. This is a creative diversion from everything else I am working on these weeks!

Enjoy the photo-journal ~

I forgot to get a photo after pressing, but it is stunning and I am so pleased with this restoration!!

Javamom

Bored With the Usual?

I just saw a piece of homeschool e-mail titled, "Bored with the usual? Try Unit Studies." Actually, you could fill in that blank with several different things, but my favorite (from personal experience) fits the following sentiment. It was my FB status update tonight.


"Uncle Wally and Aunt Sue at our house! Nice surprise ~ Love it. We've had so much fun and *fantastic* conversation. Education and learning, nature walks, art and art history, science, engineering, math, a little politics and religion. Got to ride around in their sweet Prius, too. I just love them."

They are some of the nicest, benevolent, smart people I know. And they are Democrats (imagine that. I can say that in this red state, and you might understand my subtle inuendo). I am moved and impressed by them in so many ways. I hope I can be more like them as I age, because they are more like Jesus than a lot of folks I've known in my lifetime.


Back to my advice, though, since this is not a post about my frustration with politics :-).

If YOU are bored with the usual, try this:

Have some of your favorite family members (or other smart people) over for some good food and conversation, sharing of quotes, travel photos,, stories, knowledge, and books. Your kids can learn a lot or at the very least be intrigued by your conversations, which will make an impression and can lead him or her to more thoughtful study. I can vouch for this method of learning and growth with MUCH passion. We've been doing this with our kids for over twenty-one years (unofficially. 18 yrs. officially since beginning 'pre-school' types of things).


Be encouraged,


Javamom